Electricity generation in Nigeria from municipal solid waste using the Swedish Wasteto-Energy Model

Abstract

Waste-to-energy (WTE) technology in Nigeria is still at the infancy stage whereas in Sweden the technology is now so advanced that energy in the form of heat and electricity has commercially been recovered from waste. This study examines waste-toenergy development and its success factors in Sweden with a view to instigating the deployment of a modified Sweden’s waste-to-energy model in Nigeria to enhance her WTE capacity. The study was carried out in two phases. The first phase involved field visits to some waste-to-energy plants in Sweden and the second phase was a desk research of available data on current WTE development in Nigeria, Sweden’s energy sector as well as factors responsible for its successful WTE development. The result from the study showed that Sweden generated about 2.0TWh of electricity from about 5.7 million tonnes of waste in its WTE plants in 2014. The success of WTE development and growth in Sweden is hugely as a result of the support from the Swedish government via enacting enabling policies and adequate funding. With about 14 million tonnes of combustible waste available in Nigeria, about 4.4TWh of electricity could be generated annually if WTE development in the country receives similar support from the Nigerian government.

Keywords: Electricity generation, Municipal solid waste, Renewable energy, Solid waste combustion, Swedish waste-to-energy model, Waste-to-energy development